A new premium tea shop, TEAZENTEA, held its grand opening at a downtown Saratoga location on July 28; it occupies the same location as the Starbucks that closed down in 2022.
Because Saratoga downtown’s previous bubble tea store, Tea Lyfe, closed in the summer of 2023, numerous students say they are excited to have a new place to hang out with friends, get a treat and study.
The chain began in 2016 in Taiwan. It then established locations worldwide, including California.
TEAZENTEA offers a variety of drinks such as boba milk tea, smoothies, slushies, coffee and juices, with many unusual flavors like Honeydew Slush, Butterfly Pea Tea and Avocado Smoothie. It also provides typical flavors found in other boba stores like Brown Sugar Milk Tea and Strawberry Matcha Latte. Prices range from roughly $5 to $8 for a drink.
Junior Christina Labban has become a regular at the shop since its opening and recommends ordering drinks with 25% or 50% sugar because she thinks the drinks are sweeter than those at other boba locations.
“They have some really interesting flavor options — like a lot of bright, sugary drinks,” Labban said. “Even with 50% sugar, it’s still really sweet.”
Labban added that a large reason she likes the store is its proximity to the school.
“Other boba places are a lot cheaper, but because of the location, I would go there. If people are willing to spend $8 on boba, they should check it out,” Labban said. “It’s so convenient [and] after [field hockey] practice, I go there because it’s so close.”
Rather than going to TEAZENTEA for the drinks, some students, like senior Timothy Leung, enjoy it primarily for its study environment. The combination of natural light and plants provide a comforting atmosphere, he said.
“A lot of people from Saratoga go and that’s kind of exciting. I wrote a poem about the place, how you never know who you’re going to see there,” Leung said. “I’ve waved at people who I usually won’t wave to at the halls, but I do inside of TEAZENTEA because there’s just some special communal magic there.”
TEAZENTEA’s convenient location also benefits students who are looking to work during the school year and summer.
Sophomore Alma Garniek has worked as a barista and cashier at the store since the new school year began. During a typical shift of three to four hours, Garniek finds herself cleaning the workspace when she’s not busy making orders. She enjoys the flexibility, as the managers understand that school comes first; if a conflict arises due to a school event, her manager will adjust her shifts to work around it.
For her, the training process to become a barista at TEAZENTEA was hands on and relatively quick. Although it was her first job, she was already learning recipes and working the register after only two days.
To students interested in working at TEAZENTEA, Garniek recommends being fully committed to the job.
“Don’t be careless. It’s really not a hard job at all; you just have to commit to it,” Garniek said. “Don’t take your mistakes so lightly, because it is [a drink] that you end up throwing away if you make a mistake.”
Although Garniek emphasizes trying to avoid careless mistakes, she also finds her job truly fun and enjoyable.
“You make a lot of friends, even if they’re 20 years older than you. They’re really nice and I love all of [my co-workers],” Garniek said.
